Utah

I spent some time with a good friend earlier this week, one of those friends who isn't on facebook, so I actually had to pull out my computer to show her my vacation pictures.  Lucky for her, she got to suffer through every single picture I took!  It was nice to sit back and look through my pictures after being home for a little over a week and talk about my time out West.  As I was looking through them, it reminded me of a thought I had as I was driving Eastward toward home.   That thought?  The entire State of Utah should be a National Park.

There are lots of amazing places in this big awesome country of ours, but Utah just seems extra special.  Last fall, when we traveled out to Oregon and Washington, we drove through Northern Utah on our way home.  I remember thinking then how beautiful and unique the landscape was there and knew then that I would have to go back to Utah.  I guess I just didn't realize how soon I'd be back. And after seeing more of it this trip, I know that I will go back again.

Great Salt Lake

From the Great Salt Lake to the spot where four States meet and so many places in between, I think Utah is just amazing.  

Four Corners Monument

There are definitely some extra special places in Utah and it already has several National Parks and National Monuments, but what really amazed me about this place was just the awesome views you can experience simply driving down the highway.  

Along I-80 in Northern Utah 

Driving on US-89 Near Big Water, Utah 

Anyone traveling to Utah needs to make the drive along US-89. It takes you from the dry desert-y area near Page Arizona, through some beautiful canyons and then becomes a curvy drive through small mountains-with some stunning views along the way.  You get amazing views of the edges of the Grand Staircase-Escalante monument with its ever changes rock formations and amazing colors from bright reds to deep grays.  We only traveled as far North as Bryce Canyon on US-89, but you can take it all the way North to Provo and I bet it would be beautiful for the entire drive!

Grand Staircase Escalante

Our ultimate goal for the day was to see Bryce Canyon and Zion National Parks.  But we got way more than we bargained for with the views along the road. 

After leaving Utah for several days to explore other areas of the Southwest, we returned on our trek home, this time traveling along US-50...also known as the Loneliest Road in America.  A very fitting moniker for this highway because you can drive 100 miles and not see a town.  But the views along this route are absolutely stunning!

Nevada Utah Border

Roadside "lake"

Farmland

A view of US-50 

Mountains!

If you really want to explore Utah, I say get off of the expressways and onto roads like US-89 and US-50, you will not regret it!  Just be prepared not to see a lot of other people and make sure to have a tank full of gas and lots of snack and water!  I'm in no hurry to leave Michigan again any time soon and we still have several other States we plan to visit, but I know for certain that we'll return to explore Utah even further some day.  

Imke and Maddie at Bryce Canyon